While it remains to be seen whether the recent bid by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to increase on-time performance of airlines will be effective or not, passengers have continued to be distressed by the repeated delays and cancelations of local air carriers.

Whether they are traveling with the national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines or low-cost airlines VietJet Air and Jetstar Pacific, having their flights delayed or canceled is now a common occurrence for passengers.

Nguyen Duc Hung was only informed that his Jetstar flight traveling from the central coast city of Da Nang back to Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday was delayed from 4:00 pm to 6:40 pm when he had already checked out of his hotel and arrived at the airport.

“They told me only a few hours before departure time and I had to wait at the airport with my luggage,” he complained in a phone call to Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper with anger immediately after learning of the annoying news.

Nguyen Le Thanh Binh might never forget his travel between Ho Chi Minh City and the central city of Vinh with budget carrier Vietjet Air earlier this month, as it was astonishingly delayed five times in total.

Binh should have left Vinh at 10:10 am on July 4, but the VietJet Air flight ended up taking off at 5:00 pm, after four delay announcements, he recalled.

“They said the delays were due to late arrivals of the airplane,” he said.

On his return to the southern metropolis on July 13, Binh had to wait more than four hours at Vinh airport as his flight was once again delayed to 4:30 pm instead of 12:30 pm.

But what annoys Binh the most is that the airline fined a passenger VND450,000 (US$21.18) for being five minutes late for check-in, he said.

“The carrier was late for hours but only made a half-hearted apology, and they fined a passenger for being five minutes late.

“This is unfair.”

Passengers unsupported

There are yet many other worst case scenarios when passengers have had to travel hundreds of kilometers only to board their flights.

Nguyen Hong Nhu Tran bought a Jetstar Pacific ticket to travel to HCMC from the northern city of Hai Phong, 105km from Hanoi, on July 13.

But on the day before departure, she was informed by the low-cost carrier that her flight was canceled, and replaced by another flight departing from Hanoi.

Left with no alternatives, Tran had to travel to the capital city by coach in the early hours of the morning to board the replacement flight.

“After my daughter had landed in HCMC, Jetstar Pacific phoned to apologize and promised to cover the VND400,000 ($18.83) cost of traveling coach,” Tran’s father, Nguyen Van Hiep, told Tuoi Tre.

“But they did not tell us how and where to claim the refund.”

Even passengers of the flag carrier Vietnam Airlines have been plagued by the same incident.

Tran Thi Thanh Nguyen and nine members of her family could have missed their flight from HCMC to the central city of Thanh Hoa on June 30 if she had not asked the Vietnam Airlines employees about its status, having been left uninformed nearly two hours over the expected departure time.

“As we had been waiting so long and still hadn’t heard their announcement for boarding, I went to ask the employees only to be told that the flight was canceled due to foul weather,” Nguyen recalled.

The airline employees suggested that Nguyen’s family change their tickets to travel to Vinh, 200km from their desired destination, and get to Thanh Hoa by coach.

But when Nguyen followed the suggestion, she was told that there were no tickets to Vinh left.

“The ticket sellers said this is normal and again recommended that we travel to Hanoi and take a coach to Thanh Hoa,” Nguyen said.

“Our journey eventually took a day longer, an extra cost of VND2.5 million ($118), and we did not receive the slightest support from Vietnam Airlines.”

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